Reading Carmilla has been a pleasant experience! The language was accessible, the story engrossing. There is a delicious and satisfying sense of creeping and impending evil as the narrator, Laura, comes to know Carmilla over time. I must admit, in reading this delightful vampire story that I was slightly dubious as to how it related to the historical, contextual focus of our class. The idea that Carmilla’s vampire-flavored villain could be symbolically representative of one of the battling factors in Ireland’s political saga is interesting. I suppose Carmilla, as the urgent and seductive lover promising care and security while intending selfish gratification no matter the cost, could be read as an embodiment of the British presence in Ireland’s government. The Irish parliament, effectively controlled by Great Britain, surely did it’s best to ease the growing tide of questioning, complaining, and challenging with assurances that the interests of the people were it’s own, that everyone would be okay, that they were cared for and in good hands. This is not unlike Carmilla’s creepy attempts to woo Laura into a love affair – talk of a grand plan, of mutual destiny, of a love that needn’t concern itself with the well-being of all people … just those who matter. “I live in you; and you would die for me, I love you so.” (Carmilla to Laura, pg.274) This might be me reading too much into Carmilla’s character and the intentions or beliefs of the author. I do, however, find the afore-mentioned similarities between the nature of Carmilla and the role and presence of the Irish parliament to exist regardless, and they are compelling to me.
The role of sexuality in Carmilla seems limited to Carmilla’s character, though in her case it plays a somewhat significant factor in establishing and defining her persona. Her unabashed desire for Laura is both inexplicable and highly telling. Her intentions are selfish, draped in the verbiage of a grand affair for the ages. The fact that her passion is for another woman is not really addressed as odd or troubling within the context of the narrative or the tone of the book. However, if one were to look at the subtext of the characters and the meaning of their personalities, it could be argued that it is significant that Carmilla’s role is that of both lesbian temptress and undead evil vampire monster – in some way correlating the two in kind, if not degree. Again, this theory might be a bit far-reaching, but it could be imagined that Laura’s character could have just as easily been a young man; there has to be some reason the love affair was chosen to be homosexual.
I really enjoyed reading Carmilla; I hope that my understanding of its narrative and its subtext are at least somewhat accurate. It is my hope that at least one of our other readings this semester will involve a monster of some sort; perhaps a Bigfoot or a werewolf.
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Hi Ann,
ReplyDeleteI also found Carmilla much more pleasurable to read than our previous texts. I like the way that initially Le Fanu almost makes you sympathize for Carmilla because her mother leaves her with strangers when she is very weak. Then gradually our initial impression of Carmilla begins to fade as we learn more and more about her suspicious behavior. It was so interesting to read your blog because you mentioned comparisons that I hadn’t thought of.
You said, “The idea that Carmilla’s vampire-flavored villain could be symbolically representative of one of the battling factors in Ireland’s political saga is interesting. I suppose Carmilla, as the urgent and seductive lover promising care and security while intending selfish gratification no matter the cost, could be read as an embodiment of the British presence in Ireland’s government.” What a great comparison! The comparison between Carmilla’s manipulative nature corresponds to Great Britain’s control over Ireland. I’m so glad that you mentioned this because I definitely see the parallel. The entire time I read I was focusing so much on the novel as a whole in relation to the Irish Famine, that I didn’t really scrutinize characterization.
It is easy to overlook some of the symbolism in the novel because there is so much! After reading the symbolism you discovered I felt intrigued to do a little bit of research. The following website provides a lot of symbolism that once again, I didn’t even recognize reading the novel the first time through. http://www.jslefanu.com/harris.html
Here is an excerpt from the website that I found interesting
“With the help of her father and English Victorian culture, Laura tries to ignore both her sexuality and her Styrian heritage, but they emerge in the supernatural form of Carmilla. This is similar to Le Fanu’s perception that a divided Ireland was destroying itself by ignoring its heritage. The past pattern of oppression and rebellion affects the present, and those who live in the present are at risk of becoming like vampires themselves, repeating the sins of their nations at the same time during which they suffer for them.”
The online article goes on to say that when Laura views the portrait of her ancestor that disturbingly resembles Carmilla, it is symbolism for Laura being haunted by her past and that we are all haunted by our past. It’s so interesting to read the symbolism that everyone picked up on.
Ann,
ReplyDeleteI liked this novel too. Although some student’s blogs mention that the love between Laura and Carmilla isn’t necessarily “lesbian” and shouldn’t be termed so, through some research I have conducted it seems like that’s how everyone is referring to this tale (well, most websites I found.) I understand the attraction between Laura and Carmilla is very powerful and almost from like a strange fairytale; very magnetic and dark, even though it was uncomfortable to read at times (for me.) I found myself at times feeling sorry for Laura; little did she know she was being sucked in to a vampire’s hold.
I also did some more research and found that there is supposed to be a film coming out, or at least it was in 2009. I’m not sure if it actually came out, but I think that it would be intriguing to watch an updated version of this movie. From my perspective on this novel, I could definitely picture Anne Hathaway or Megan Fox portraying Carmilla, and Brittany Snow or Kristen Bell playing Laura. I know this is irrelevant to the text but it was fun picturing the movie in my head while reading the book.
Back to the homosexual thing—I liked your last paragraph, and how you mentioned that LeFanu could have made Laura a Larry, or in other words, a young man. But since he didn’t, it brings up the question why exactly did he choose a girl? Was there really a reason behind it? Or did he just see the story in his mind that way?
As many of the posts have brought up, the subject of sexuality, wether in your face or fading into the background of the story, plays a significant role in character development. Its actually interesting that we read this novel for this course, in that I just finished reading Bram Stoker's Dracula two weeks ago. My uncle an avid reader made me promise that I'd read this classic and at a time when soceity/media seems so wrapped up in this subject matter, so much so that I could probably term it genre at this point. Though I haven't quite figured out the obsession over vampires: Underworld, Blade, Buffy (very old school, ha)True Blood, Vampire Diaries, Twilight, etc. The underlying sexuality that exists in Carmilla is nothing new and almost entirely characteristic of this hero/villian storyline. It doesn't seem too out there considering this that there would be a love affair between two women. Vampires are in esscence taboo, in the train wreck can't help but look sort of way, for awhile and still in many cultures, love between two women was/is considered taboo.
ReplyDeleteHey Ann,
ReplyDeleteWhen I read Carmilla the only connection that I found between the novel and Ireland was the similarities between the effects of the devastation caused by the vampires and that, which was caused by the famine that plagued Ireland at the time. Both the vampires from the story and the famine that was prominent in Ireland at the time caused significant decline in population and resulted in “ruined villages.” What I found interesting about your blog was the connection that you made between Carmilla’s seductive and manipulative behavior toward Laura and the Irish parliament. I really have to commend you, while most people, including myself, was focusing on the almost sexual relationship taking place between the two main characters, you were able you look past that and see the relationship for what it was, tying it back to Ireland in such a way that I cannot help but think was the authors intentions all along. While I was focusing on Le Fanu’s not so subtle attempts to reveal Carmilla’s true identity and Carmilla’s motives for seducing Laura, linking it all back to her being a vampire, I was oblivious to his true implications behind the whole relationship and how Carmilla manipulated Laura. Looking back over the novel after reading your blog it seems to have put it in a completely new light. Le Fanu’s reasoning for the provocative relationship between Carmilla and Laura, which at once was a little ambiguous to me, seems to make a lot more sense when you link it back to the British’s relationship with the Irish people during the time of the novel.
I have to agree with you that the two main characters both being women was not a mere coincidence. The role reversal that took place between the men and women in the novel definitely emphasizes the theme of feminism, which is very much apparent in the novel. The only question is, as Nathan has pointed out in his blog, is Le Fanu attempting to portray feminism in a positive or negative light?